Lewiston firefighter Troy Cailler, second from left, works Wednesday afternoon with four new firefighters at Anytime Towing on Sabattus Street in Lewiston. They spent much of the day using extrication equipment on junk cars donated by the company. From left are Oakley Oliver, Cailler, Tim Storie, David Murphy and Jacob Thomas. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

LEWISTON – The Fire Department has four new firefighters on the job and those in charge want them to learn as soon as possible the techniques used to free victims from car wrecks.

Lewiston firefighter Troy Cailler, back left, works Wednesday with four new recruits using extrication equipment at Anytime Towing in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

With that in mind, the department held extrication training Wednesday afternoon in the yard of Anytime Towing on outer Sabattus Street. The company donated junked cars for the exercises.

For the new firefighters, it was an up-close look at the way they will approach victims of crashes.

“We started the morning with tool and equipment familiarization,” firefighter Troy Cailler said, “then worked on stabilization techniques utilizing our rescue 42 struts and cribbing. We also practiced lifting cars utilizing our air bags that are carried on the trucks.

“This afternoon we focused on cutting the vehicles, we removed doors, cut the windshield, lifted the dash and removed the roof on a car that was on its side,” he said. “We also removed the seats from the vehicle that was upside down and cut the brake pedal out in the event of a rollover that had someone trapped.”

The firefighters will continue training for several weeks before they officially join the ranks.

Lewiston firefighter Troy Cailler, right, works Wednesday with four new firefighters training with extrication equipment at Anytime Towing on Sabattus Street in Lewiston. The exercise was part of several weeks of training for the recruits. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal